Abducted
by Sailor Leo1
Summary: A modest short story, about the Kal'Tahar family, including: Dalejin, Leona and their son Tristan. Takes place in the realm of Harry Potter, with original characters and familiar locals. I don't own Harry Potter or any of the locations.
1. Chapter 1

Chapter One:

Chapter One:

**Rebel Yell.**

Stomping could be heard throughout the Kal'Tahar house that fateful night. Providing the prominent percussion and staccato was none other than ten year old Tristan Kal'Tahar. His temper (rumored to be just as great as his father's) was sent far beyond the breaking point tonight. Once again young Tristan was forced to stay at home with a baby sitter while his parents got to enjoy themselves at yet another party. Tristan was outraged and he decided right then and there that he would no longer be made to suffer these obscenities.

"I want to come with!" He screamed as his carefully planned out rebuttal. He just came within shouting distance of his father. Fists went flying, whirling above his head in obvious frustration. "WHY CAN'T I COME WITH YOU?" He bawled stamping his feet madly like he was in pain.

"Because you'd be bored, so you'll spend the whole night trying to get into our way, now go to your room and get ready for bed," His father, Dalejin, said rather callously. He tried getting a glimpse of his sons emerald eyes but only caught the top of his head, as he was obviously trying to avoid eye contact.

"Dalejin!" Tristan's mother, Leona shouted. "Come here a moment wont you?" She asked in her usual melodic tone that quite contrasted Dalejin's gruff voice.

Dalejin gave what almost passed as a look of sympathy for his son, and reached out to brush his hair out of his eyes, "hey, don't be like that," he said with a mock frown, "we'll bring you something back we pro-"

"I DON'T WANT ANYTHING!" Tristan shouted violently, pushing his father's hand away storming past him. "I HATE you; you're the WORST father, EVER!" Was the last Dalejin heard from Tristan before he slammed his door and looked himself in his room.

Defeated, Dalejin gave a sigh as he walked into his room to see what his wife needed. His grief was temporarily forgotten as he looked at her. She had the most unusually natural pink hair he had ever seen on a woman, or man, for that matter. It attracted him to her instantly. He walked over to her slowly and played with the straps of her long green dress and nape of her neck playfully, relaxing in the therapeutic scent of her perfume.

Leona let a small smile creep from the corner or her lips and giggled.

"You needed me?" He asked softly as he rested his chin on her shoulder and stared into the mirror that Leona happened to be doing her make-up in. The tickling sensation from his stubble beard made her giggle more.

"Not any more," she smiled at him through the mirror. "You took so long getting over here, I figured it out myself," she said patting his dark brown curls that made up his hair. "Is everything alright with Tristan?" She asked worriedly through the mirror.

"He's fine, just threw a tantrum," He sighed staring at his shoes then looked back up at his wife. "And pity you can't handle more of your own problems, I'd rather not like to get my hands dirty, if I can help it," he smirked and moved from Leona to the bed and sat down on it. To pretend that he was doing something, Dalejin adjusted the cuff links on his sleeves. He had been dressed in his navy blue suit for a while now, and wished his wife would give up on the hair and make-up thing so they could go.

In fairness, he actually wasn't in that big a hurry to get to this 'party.' In fact, he rather wished he could stay home. It was to be a suit and tie banquet. The guest list would include several witch and wizards of great importance, several members of the wizengammot were rumored to be in attendance. Politics would most likely be discussed heatedly, and in great length. This made Dalejin rather envious of his son that was to stay home with the babysitter, Crys, Leona's best friend. He was reluctant to play witness to Leona making a fool of her self while trying to defend the rights of house elves. She thought and acted with her heart, Dalejin both loved and respected her for that, but she needed to learn that some house elves just didn't want to be freed. How hard of a concept was institutionalization anyway?

Bringing Dalejin from his thoughts, as if on cue, Leona spun around twirling her dress like a little girl. _What do you think? _He knew would be the next question to come from her lips.

"Well, do I look decent enough to be seen out in public?" Dalejin was so caught off guard by her sarcastic tone, and nonchalant attitude that he gave a chuckle.

"I don't know," he responded to her with a cocky grin. "You sure you have enough moisturizer to tackle that dragon's hide of yours?" He teased. Leona responded in her typical fashion of taking no prisoners and jumped on the bed, pinning him to it. She gave him a mean look in an attempt to be angry but failed miserably. This sudden burst of energy gave her a radiant glow, making it seem impossible that anyone would utter the previous accusation.

"You look marvelous," Dalejin noted quickly in defeat. "Now would you please get off me so we can get out of here, we're late enough as it is," he added as she slowly reversed directions guiding her heeled feet to the floor. She walked over to the mirror and fixed her appearance ever so slightly before leaving the room, with Dalejin following close behind.

As they walked down the hall Leona paused by Tristan's room. She raised her arm to the door and gave a pleading look to her husband obviously wanting to go in and tell her son good night. He shrugged his shoulders and motioned to the door silently.

Leona knocked.

"Tristan, honey, we're leaving. We'll be back by midnight, promise," she said sweetly to the door in the way that only a mother could. For her reward the door decided to respond with a loud thud - Tristan had thrown a shoe at it.

Dalejin was about to shout at him, locked door or not, but Leona cut him off by pressing her hand against his lips.

"Let's just leave him be," she whispered, "Let's let him think he won," She added. Dalejin gave her a confused look but acquiesced all the same.

"Let's go then," he said stoically after a short pause and brushed past her angrily as he marched down the steps that led to the foyer. "WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING HERE?" Dalejin shouted once he was he was out of sight. Leona, still standing next to Tristan's door was confused.

"Honey, I called Crys over, remember," she breathed in a hurried tone as she raced down the steps to greet her friend and to alleviate her husbands confusion.

Who she encountered next when she joined her husband left her speechless.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter Two:

Chapter Two:

**Beat It**

"Okay…this looks suspiciously like a party, I must be in the wrong place." Crys mused silently to herself as she opened the door to the Kal'Tahar household and walked in. Her long dark purple hair was covered with a white bandana that hid her confusion that would other wise be apparent on her face at the moment. Standing in front of her facing the Kal'Tahars was a goblin. He was short, barely passing the three foot mark. His long grey nose crinkled in dissatisfaction when Crys entered the room. He held a scroll in his right hand, and he slowly raised it towards Leona.

"Mrs. Kal'Tahar, I had hoped this meeting would be private," he said aiming a dark glance at Crys who seemed enraged, but sauntered off any way to get a drink from the kitchen.

"I don't recall ever scheduling a meeting with you, sir," Leo said slightly annoyed; deliberately adding a pause before the sir. Leona at this point, was still more confused by his appearance here than anything else.

"In my line of work you'll find that people hardly expect iour/i company," he shrugged off the fact because he preferred it that way. Humans are nasty creatures; not to be trusted, avoided when ever possible.

Dalejin stood in silence for some time. It was extremely uncommon for goblins to just 'pop' in. There must be a good reason for it. He concluded that it was best to hear what the goblin had to say before he killed it for entering his home. Intrinsically, Dalejin was worried. He and Leona set up several protection charms around the house before they moved in. If they had used their magic properly a fly couldn't hope to enter the premises. iSo how did the goblin get in?/i The simplest answer was that they just screwed up; if there was more to it than that….

The goblin looked back and forth between Leona and Dalejin. He enjoyed watching the female squirm, as they so often did. He gave a cough to clear his throat. He had enough fun so he unrolled the parchment he was holding to conduct some business. "Do you know what this is?" He asked with a sly grin. The couple leaned forward to inspect the paper. Dalejin reached over trying to grab it but the goblin tore it away from him, liking the advantage he had over the two.

From across the room Crys watched the scene unfold. She picked up her glass of water and sipped it wondering it she should interject. After several moments of silence Crys grew bored watching the two. "Call me kooky, but if years of watching Joss Whedon shows have taught me anything-aside from the fact that James Marstsers is a hotty hott hot-it's that this is a demon contract. Very standard, Angel and I could knock it out in five, maybe ten minutes." She rested against the doorframe, grinning proudly.

The goblin looked up at the detestable woman. Of course she was right. She knew it. He gave a sigh, He hated when that happened. "Your er-friend, is correct, what I hold in my hand is indeed a contract, which you two," he paused to point at Dalejin and Leona with his long gnarled fingers, "Have indirectly agreed to-"

"I am quickly losing my patience goblin! Cut to the chase before I rip out your throat!" Dalejin interjected not wanting this intruder in his house for a moment longer. The goblin raised his hand dismissively at him not threatened by him in the least.

"If you would let me finish, I could explain…Now Mrs. Kal'Tahar, do you remember having in your possession a certain fertility amulet?" The goblin asked stroking his chin curious to see how she would respond. Leona looked at him and thought that his question was completely random, and frankly, it was inappropriate. "Leona, this is important, do you have it, and have you used it?" The goblin sighed just wanting a 'yes or no.'

Leona looked at her husband then focused on the goblin. "Yes, I have it, yes I've used it, but what's it matter to you?" She asked beginning to get frightened. The diminutive creature smiled at her wickedly; glad she had asked that question.

"I'm just going to assume that you haven't bothered to look at the back of it; furthermore, I'm going to continue by assuming that none of you in this room bothered to learn Goblik," He smirked knowing he was right -the outrage on their faces proved it. "Let me summarize, by using that amulet in attempt to have a child of your own you agreed to pay me (me being the goblin society) were you successful in bringing a babe into this world."

"We didn't agree to pay a goddamn thing!" Leo shouted making a fist with her hand not enjoying his accusations.

"You're here to collect money," Dalejin breathed slowly and calmly summoning his sword with his wand. He was going to end this right here. He had remained docile for far too long.

"Not quite," the goblin added and watched as Dalejin's sword flew into the room. With a swift motion of his hand he banished the sword back into the wizard's room. "When you die I will want that sword back by the way," he muttered quickly. "As I was saying: the contract gives you ten years to pay your fee, and I've been reasonable in waiting for as long as I have, but it's time I collect," He folded his hands together to see what the couple would do, nothing happened. They stared at him in utter hatred.

"And supposed we were to pay you, how much would we owe you?" Dalejin gritted through his teeth biding time for a distraction so he could try for his sword again. Normally he would have just killed him with magic by now, but goblins were a tricky sort, you never knew what stunt they'd pull next.

"It's too late for that," the goblin simply replied by shrugging his shoulders. "I'm just here to take it back-"

"Fine! You can have it!" Leona screamed summoning the amulet. In the momentary distraction provided be Leona's outburst Dalejin lifted the Goblin off the ground in a choke hold. Without so much as a bead of sweat, the goblin placed his left index finger on Dalejin's face and caused a massive amount of heat to be transferred burning his face. It would have blistered badly, but Dalejin had many scars on his face to protect him.

Despite the fact, the goblin was victorious, and was unceremoniously dropped on his rear end. He stood up quickly cursing in Goblik. "No Leona! You are mistaken!" He seethed, with bloodshot eyes that put the fear of God in her. He stomped towards her getting dangerously close. "I'm not here for the amulet," he hissed so only she could hear, "I'M TAKING THE BOY!" He roared so loudly that car alarms belonging to the muggle neighbors went off.

Finally, Dalejin was successful in summoning his sword He mercilessly lunged at him, sending the sword into the fattest region of his stomach. But a funny thing happened. The figure disappeared in whips of smoke, much like apparition, but it was disturbingly different. There hadn't been a sound. Slowly, they turned to share a worried glance. They needed to get to Tristan.

Adrenaline pumped through the parent's veins as they raced up stairs, trying to get to Tristan's room first. Crys followed closely behind, merely the observer in this bizarre scene. The race only lasted seconds, but it may as well been an eternity. Dalejin had the room in sight now and didn't hesitate as he blasted the door away with his wand.

"Tristan?!" He screamed in terror as he ran past the splintered rubble into his room. When the smoke dissipated, it was plain to see -the room was empty. There hadn't even been a sign of struggle.

Leona followed shortly after scanning all around the room for any trace of him, hoping that he was just hiding. Her face quickly went from a flushed pink to a stark white. She fell to her knees and pushed the world away from her. Only one truth would enter her mind….

iHe's Gone……./i


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter Three:

Chapter Three:

**Into the Night**

The couple tore up the room in fever pitch frenzy. Clothes and toys were tossed about in panicked excitement; bed sheets were strewn across the room with out care. There must be some clue containing his whereabouts somewhere, and they would find it -or die trying. In light of the situation, even Crys threw herself into the ruckus, albeit she had no idea what she was looking for.

Minutes went by and they all came to the same conclusion: The goblin made a clean escape.

"I'm not one for calling the ministry, but it makes one question as to why they aren't here yet," Crys stated peering at her friends wondering what their thoughts were on that. Dalejin growled at her knowing the answer.

"They're useless to us, the ministry still hates me, and no one would believe us…Goblins are infamously reclusive, remember. We might as well claim that a boggart kidnapped our son-"

"But it's the truth!" Crys interjected. She was so hot and tired that she didn't care who she was picking a fight with.

Dalejin looked at Leona's best friend, sorely wanting to take his frustrations out on her. He couldn't, Leona would kill him. All the same he couldn't keep his anger in check. "They don't give a damn about the truth!" Dalejin hoarsely whispered. His eyes stared her down menacingly, daring her to do something. When he saw the distressed look in Crys' eyes he felt so ashamed. Rather than deal with his problems, he vented at an innocent bystander, who was just as upset as he was. Without apologizing he did an about face and left the room.

Leona walked over to Crys and placed a comforting hand on her shoulder. "It's not your fault," she said softly with tears threatening to blur her vision. "We're all upset and tired. He didn't mean it." Crys looked at Leona shaking like she had just been shouted at by her father. With her eyes wide open she looked like a frightened Chihuahua.

"I know," she finally squeaked back at her. The girls stood there for a moment letting their imaginations take advantage of the situation. For Leona, scenes of her son appeared in her head. All of them were terrifyingly violent. Is he frightened? Are they hurting him? Would they…have they…Killed him? Leona couldn't entertain the thoughts any longer.

"Merlin's beard!" Leona wailed as she fell to her knees once more. Crys knelt down beside her. It was her turn to comfort Leona as she cried inconsolably.

"Awe hun, don't worry, we'll get him back," she said in a moderately calm voice. "Before you know it, he'll be running around the house terrorizing his father," Crys dared a laugh before sudden bitterness crept through her. She still felt the sting of Dalejin's words. Despite her best efforts, it appeared that her friend wasn't listening. She racked her brain trying to come up with a comforting thought. Nothing seemed at all appropriate for the moment.

"Crys, can I speak to you for a moment?" Dalejin called loudly from his room. His tone was commanding and calm; which caused Crys to wonder what business he could possible have with her. Crys pulled herself up off her knees and told Leona that she'd be right back. Somehow she doubted that she was listening. Her stomach gave a sinking sensation as she made her way down the hall and into his room.

She was mildly shocked to find Dalejin dressed in his attire which he was famous for wearing as the dark lord, Serpent's Fire. However as she understood it; he was supposed to be retired from that. Maybe Leo believed it, but Crys certainly did not. She stood there a moment watching the Serpent that was prominently displayed on the back of his cloak, dance.

Dalejin just finished attaching his sword to his belt when he turned around. "I'm going out to hunt for some information," he said in his authoritative tone, the same manner he once addressed his followers. "If I am successful in that endeavor, I shall return in the morning and share what I've learned."

Crys put her hands on her hips. She didn't enjoy being talked down to, like she was his subordinate. "What does this have to do with me?" She asked with a raised eyebrow. She tapped her foot impatiently waiting for his answer.

"I need you to keep Leo busy," he said picking up a bottle of arsenic from the dresser. He inspected its contents and grinned as he stashed it into his cloak, next to the veritserum. "She's really sensitive about me leaving on my own. I know she doesn't approve of my methods. In her current state I'm afraid she'd do something especially stupid." He replied calmly as if in actuality Leo's actions meant nothing to him.

It seemed cruel, but distancing himself from his loved ones was the only way he could operate at his full potential, and acting at the top of his game was the only way he'd get results. "I'm counting on you," he said with a lump in his throat, darting a glance Crys' way.

Crys caught it and gave a smirk. iThe bastard does love her./i She thought to herself. "Don't worry about it," Crys said with a confident smile. "Distraction's my middle name," she added crossing her arms daring him to question her.

"Dalejin walked past her heading for the door, obviously finished with the conversation. Before he made his way into the hall, he paused to turn around to face Crys. "Sorry about earlier," his words barely audible to human ears. Crys watched him look down at his feet.

He didn't enjoy admitting he made a mistake, and tonight he made far too many. Tristan's abduction was all his fault and he would never forgive himself for it. He should have protected his house better. He shouldn't have angered his son tonight. Most importantly; he shouldn't have let that goblin live.

At least that mistake he could remedy.

He slowly walked down the stairs once more this evening. His dark cloak flowed behind him, almost animate, anticipating the bloody night that was to come. Dalejin knew that once he walked onto the streets he would loose his amnesty as Dalejin. Once more he would become Serpent's Fire. It was a transition he affectionately welcomed, like an old friend. As Serpent's Fire he wouldn't have to worry about the repercussions of his actions. He could completely focus on finding his answers without worrying how he got them.

Dalejin turned the door knob and stepped into the chilly night air. He took a look around to make sure he was alone and took a deep breath. With a loud crack he disappeared into the night.


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter Four:

**4 In the Morning**

Crys watched from the top of the stairs as Dalejin vanished into thin air. The force exerted from his dissapperition caused the front door to slam shut in a loud bang. It happened so quickly and powerfully that Crys jumped back. Remembering where she was; and the promise she just made to Dalejin, Crys walked back to the absolute destruction that was Tristan's room. Parents often accuse their children of letting a tornado ravage their room, but in Tristan's case, that's EXACTLY what it looked like.

Leo stood dead center in its aftermath. For the moment her crying ceased. She clutched onto her son's favorite green pillow so adamantly as if she was afraid that if she let go, it too would leave her. When Crys came back into the room Leona raised her eyes to meet Crys.'

"Hey," Crys said softy looking at her friend, lost for words. Leona looked back at her with an equal loss... The reality of the situation began to sink into their hearts, giving them a cold bitter sensation that spread through every part of their body.

"I need to call Dream," Leo announced barely making her self heard. Crys nodded once, not about to argue with her on anything, unless it interfered with the simple order Dalejin gave her.

Leona slowly relinquished her hold on the pillow and watched as it fell to the ground in slow motion. Without making a sound Leo walked past Crys and went downstairs to the dining room hearth. She pulled out her ebony wand and focused on her patronus. In her younger years it took the shape of a young killer whale, but now much older, and a much different person, it took the shape of a shrew. She whispered her words to it carefully and it took off blazing towards Dream's castle.

Leona paced the roaring hearth for several minutes before eventually she heard some abnormally load crackling take place. Several seconds later a fiery likeness of her other best friend appeared, tired, but otherwise alright.

It took several moments for Dream to finish waking up; once she did her brain was filled with confusion. "Leona it's late," her fire appearance yawned. "So what happened?" She said in response to Leo's message from the silvery translucent shrew patronus.

"Tristan's been abducted by goblins!" Leo shouted and kneeled in front of the fire to get closer. "Apparently that fertility charm came with a catch," Leo said in a frantic voice, but tried to stay as calm as possible, so Dream could assess the situation.

Dream's tired brain hurt. Leona woke her up in the middle of the night to assault her brain with all this madness. If Leo were anyone else, she might not have believed this plight, but Leo tended to live more eccentrically than anyone else she knew. Hence, if Leo thought her son had been kidnapped by goblins, who was she to argue. After several quiet minutes Dream spoke again, feeling more of her brain begin to switch on.

"So let me get this straight, these goblins came into your house and stole Tristan, from his bed and without reason?" She inquired being extra skeptical so she could paint the most accurate picture possible. Leo almost got offended at her words, but realized that it did seem strange.

"Well, they said they had a reason…The amulet you gave me eleven years ago, you remember it?" Leo asked having a feeling that Dream did.

"Vaguely, what about it?" Dream responded wondering what Leo's point was.

"Did you know there was writing in the back of it?"

"I didn't inspect it for any, why was it important?" Dream said with a bit of nervousness creeping over her.

"Apparently there was Goblik writing on the back of it. It said I'd have to pay them, if the amulet worked. I didn't know that," Leo confessed to Dream, "and tonight a Goblin broke into my house and kidnapped Tristan as payment!" Leo shouted

"WHAT!" Dream shouted, livid. "They took MY godson, as a form of payment!" Dream's shouting was so loud that owls screeched into the night, being affected by Dream's powers over controlling animals. "Borgin and Burkes, NEVER mentioned that when I went to buy it!" She added fully intending to have a word with the shop owner about it. Items like that were too dangerous to be sold, even in ithat/i store.

"It's not his fault," Leo said looking down in defense of the store owner. "I doubt he knew about it either, it's not like the Goblin's share their language with the rest of the world. Most wizards wouldn't even recognize it on sight." Leo said feeling that she said it more for herself than anyone else.

Dream on her side of the hearth stared at the luminescent sadness of Leona's face. She felt her pain more than she knew. She wished she could do something more to comfort her, but it was a path that was to be made mostly on her own. She trusted Leo to go to the ends of the earth for her godson, so she had faith of his return. Dream looked at Leo for a moment then realized something. "Where's Dalejin?" She asked figuring he'd be right by her side.

Leona looked from her left to her right. "You know what, I don't know!" Leona shouted nervously. Her first thought was that something happened to him as well; she then realized what a ludicrous notion that was. He must have left somewhere. She was about to give it further speculation when Dream cut in recognizing the signs of panic on Leo's face.

"Hey, Leona why don't you go make a cup of tea and have a nap. I'm sure everything will be better in the morning, ok? And I'll head over to my library to research amulets and goblins; see if I figure out anything to help. If you need me, don't hesitate to ask, Remy and I will be over there in a flash,"

Leona nodded towards the hearth, nearly singeing her hair on the flames. "Okay," she said standing up.

"Take it easy Leo, you're no good to anyone stressed." Dream paused to give a light hearted laugh. "Love you Leo, call me when something happens.

"Okay, love you too," Leo said as Dream's face disappeared from the flames.

Feeling a little better, but not by much, Leo walked into the living room where Crys was completely enthralled with the TV. A commercial just came on when Crys turned down the volume and turned to face her friend. "Well? What did she have to say?" Crys wondered.

"She didn't know about the Goblin writing on the amulet," Leo said in a sigh. "She said she's going to take a look at her books to see what she comes across on Goblins and Amulets," she added flopping on the couch next to Crys. She rested her head on her shoulder. "What are we watching?" She asked.

"Buffy!" Crys shouted with an excited smile. Leona gave a groan, of course it would be Buffy; she was obsessed with that show as of late. Crys couldn't help that Spike was a sexy fiend and demanded to be viewed at least three times a night.

"Please tell me it's not the musical episode," Leo added threatening to cry if it was. Considering how awful this night was turning out, it was an ample threat.

"Ok, I won't," Crys said turning up the volume when it came back from commercial. Leona looked up at her and was about to protest, but she was too exhausted to fight. Maybe she would try to sleep through it, Leo thought. All too quickly she found herself nodding off on the couch, the last words she remembered hearing was '…It could be bunnies..!'


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter Five:

Chapter Five:

Take My Breath Away

Diagon Alley was a virtual ghost town. After 9 P.M it always was, save for the few taverns and bars that elected to stay open for their patrons. Dalejin scanned shop after shop, searching for any signs of recent activity. In the near distance a lone lamp stood out among the night sky and darkened buildings. Intrigued Dalejin waltzed smoothly over to inspect it.

He was almost delighted to find that the lamp was mounted on a brick wall -the entrance to the Leaky Cauldron It was the gateway to the muggle/magical community, depending on which way you were heading. Dalejin knew from experience that the bar promptly closed at nine, as a respect to the people that stayed in the adjacent hotel.

Dalejin pulled out the wand from his cloak and doused the lamp's flame. He proceeded to knock on the brick wall, three up and two across. He repeated it three times before the wall finally gave way and allowed him entry into the pub. Silently, he stowed his wand and scanned the room for the bartender.

A single candle was the only source of light in the pub. It circled freely around the bartender, orbiting like a satellite. Dirty glasses were piled up in the sink, not having been washed in weeks. The dingy bar smelled of rancid milk, throw-up and sawdust.

The clearly inept bartender went by the name Jack Bean; a very humorous and obvious name for a liquor clerk, but one he embraced freely due to his love of alcohol. Dalejin did in fact know him. He would never forget his name, and it wasn't because he found it funny.

This short man that paced in front of Dalejin, unaware of his presence, was a traitor. Years ago Dalejin had the misfortune of allowing him to join his ranks in an effort to over throw the ministry. Jack wasn't very skilled in combat, but he did have connections, which made him a promising addition to his army.

The night of the attack against the ministry, Jack betrayed Dalejin by tipping off Leona of his activities. Of course Leona raced to him to stop his plans. True to her nature Leona put herself in harms way in an effort to keep Dalejin a slightly more honest man. In all the hubbub of Leona's arrival, Jack managed to slip away and stay hidden for years, but tonight fate had another plan.

Several minutes passed and Jack was still pacing the length of the bar. Completely oblivious to Dalejin's presence he muttered obscenities to himself. Even if Jack came to a sudden realization of Dalejin's presence he wouldn't have recognized him because of the hood over Dalejin's face.

Growing tired of waiting Dalejin gave a cough to announce him self. "Jack Bean, what a sight for sore eyes you are!" Dalejin exclaimed with a fake enthusiasm that went undetected.

Jack jumped three feet into the air when he heard the voice. "Who's there?" He screamed loudly with an unusually high pitched voice. He spun around on the spot with fanned arms, acting like he knew Karate, or another martial art of sorts. His sporadic actions sent several of those dirty glasses crashing to the ground.

The crashing echo filled the room for several seconds and once silence prevailed once more. Jack was surprised to find himself on the floor with his hands over his head. Slowly he lifted his head to see the cloaked figure stare down at him, amused with the spectacle.

"Sorry, old habit," he gave a false laugh to ward off the jitters and pulled himself up, dusting off his pants as he went.

"Oh, I bet," Dalejin said coolly as he lowered his hood to reveal his heavily scarred face. Dalejin grinned at Jack not believing how lucky he was to have come across him again.

Jack stared back at Dalejin, his grotesquely yellow eyes showed signs of terror. i'Of all the rotten luck….Maybe he forgot/i he thought to himself as he walked back over to the sink and grabbed a glass. He reached to his left and grabbed a dirty dish rag and began 'cleaning' the glass. "What can I get you friend," he said fronting the best calm tone that he could.

Dalejin sat down on the bar stool pulling off several weapons form his belt. He set them in front of Jack, just to traumatize him more. "Whatever you're having; friend, is fine with me," he responded back.

"Ah, well you know me, I'm a whiskey man," Jack chortled reaching for his bottle of Jack Daniels and liberally poured the contents into two glasses, not bothering to add ice. "So what brings you to this bar so late at night," he asked as he handed Dalejin a glass. While he waited for him to respond he took a hearty swig of his own, all the while not taking his eyes off him.

"Oh, not much, I had a fight with the wife and I figured I'd drink on it," Dalejin lied effortlessly.

"Ah, women eh..." The man responded back, sweating like a pig. He set his glass down next to Dalejin so he could get more whiskey, being afraid was thirsty business.

Dalejin seized the opportunity to pull the bottle of veritserum from his cloak. He poured its contents into Jacks glass, and cupped it sides to make sure that the potion diffused properly.

Jack returned and eyed him suspiciously as Dalejin tried taking a drink from it. Dalejin returned his look and looked down at his glass. "Oh, my mistake," he laughed placing Jack's glass down and picked up his own taking a sip from it. "Hey," Dalejin started, "have you seen anyone odd come through tonight?"

Jack laughed shaking his head. iHe knows!/i Jack gave a deep gulp and to give himself a minute to think he took his drink and chugged down the whiskey. "Anyone odd, here? Good grief no," he paused to wipe the spilled alcohol from his lips. "Just me here tonight," he said sweat dripping from his face as he lied poorly to Dalejin.

Jack began to swagger as the truth serum began to take effect. There was an immense sense of panic before he lost control of his mind. He quickly went numb, and his pupils dilated. He rested himself against the bar to keep from falling.

"Let me ask again, I shall clarify: Have you seen any goblins come through here tonight? Did they have a young boy with them - a boy with brown hair and bright green eyes?" He questioned, his tone was thunderous and booming.

He hoisted Jack up over the bar, holding on to him by his shirt collar. He shook him violently, and all Jack could do about it was shed a tear in his defense. Inevitably he'd have to answerer, which came in the form of a simple yes.

"They bribed me," he said reaching into his pocket to reveal a small satchel of galleons. "All they wanted from me was my silence," Jack said in a robotic tone of voice, as if he didn't care what happened, which was very much the opposite.

Dalejin was completely disgusted with him. He dropped him onto a bar table that buckled under his vast weight. Under the influence of veritaserum; the man was slow to respond when Dalejin pulled out his wand to hex him.

Dalejin shot the **Cruciatus Curse at him. The curse was far worse than he could ever anticipate. Jack doubled over clutching his stomach as curse after curse was implemented on him. The rolling pain felt like he was being trampled by several hippogriffs all at once. ** **"Stop, please," Jack labored to breath. He raised his hand to his attack in an attempt to earn his sympathy.** **"Oh don't be so melodramatic," Dalejin spit at his face, and then flourished his wand to create a long thick rope. "That last curse was just ****Sectumsempra," he mused to himself as he looped the rope over a rafter and created a noose on the on other end. Once he was finished he walked over to Jack and hoisted him to his feet. He dragged him over to the rope, pulling him by his hair. Jack was only able to respond with a feeble cry.** **Dalejin effortlessly slipped the noose over Jack's head.** **"Oh, please don't," Jack sobbed ** **Dalejin decided not to pay attention to him and tightened the noose. He walked a few paces from him and brandished his wand once more. He swished it and the rope began to pull Jack into the air of its own volition. Jack was three feet above the ground when he instinctively began kicking and gasping for air that didn't come.** **The amount of pressure exerted by the rope around his neck caused his eyes to go bloodshot and budge a bit. Dalejin was amused by Jack's fruitless efforts to resist. He circled his prey waiting for him to give in to the sweet song of death.** **"That should teach you to ever come near my wife," he said staring into Jack's eyes. Jack at this point couldn't see him; tunnel vision was kicking in due to a lack of oxygen.** **After a minute of constant gagging noises, Jack finally fell limp. His lifeless eyes stared out at the Leaky Cauldron door. His sight would give bar patrons the scare of their lives when they came in the morning, of this Dalejin was certain. ** **Before leaving the bar and his handiwork Dalejin slipped his hand into Jack's pocket and pulled out the bag of Galleons. He inspected its contents for a moment, almost willing an answer to come to him.** **Finally, it did.** **"….Of course..!" Dalejin breathed feeling excitement come over him. He quickly pocketed the bag and headed out once more into the night.**


	6. Chapter 6

aligncenterChapter 6:

aligncenterChapter 6:

bWake Me Up Before You Go-Go/b/align

The sun rose early in the East this frosty morning. Birds were chirping, squirrels were busy gathering food. Muggles and wizards alike began their morning commute to their respected workplaces. All seemed peaceful in the world and Leo was oblivious to all of it, save for a certain muggle cartoon's theme song that was currently blasting on the TV.

"Who lives in a pineapple under the sea?" The pirate captain on TV taunted loudly.

Leona groaned loudly wishing she was capable of shutting out the sound. iHow could he be up so early?/i she wondered groaning. "Tristan turn it down," she moaned as she shifted around on the couch as she began to recall the events of last night. iCould it be a dream?/i Leona shifted once more to face the TV, when she opened her eyes she found no Tristan. "I guess not," she sighed to herself having just picked up the other voices in the room: They belonged to Crys and Dalejin.

Leona quickly ran over to her husband, eager to hear what news he had come by.

"Morning sunshine," Crys chuckled, finding Leo's early morning alertness amusing. Crys' wet hair was wrapped in Leona's favorite towel like a turban. Leona noticed.

"Crys, we have dozens of towels, why did you have to use my favorite one?" Leona asked her annoyed half tempted to pull the towel off.

"I didn't know it was your favorite," Crys said coolly, clearly not threatened with Leona's tone.

"It has Ariel on it for chrissakes; how could you NOT know!" Leo sighed loudly exasperated with her friend. Crys chuckled but didn't remove the towel even when Leo threatened her with a dangerous look.

"Well ladies, we can discuss information RELEVANT to our son's disappearance, or we can discuss bath towels, your choice," Dalejin finally interjected sarcastically. His displeasure was clearly evident as he stared at both the ladies, wanting to scold them further.

Leona looked at him. His brown eyes struggled to keep its anonymity against the familiar pangs of all the mixed emotions he was currently experiencing.

"What have you learned?" She asked sympathetically, feeling guilty that she hadn't asked that first.

"I went to visit a friend last night, he informed me that the best way to find where they're keeping Tristan is somehow linked through Gringotts," Dalejin responded, knowing the dangers that place could bring.

"Makes sense," Crys started, "seeing as the place is run by goblins"

"Yeah, which also means our magic is virtually worthless," Dalejin added uncomfortable with trying to navigate his way through the underbelly of the most dangerously complex bank in the world.

Leona looked at him doubting that Gringotts could be involved with Tristan's disappearance. Leona believed there was an alternate explanation. She hated to think that all the goblins could be in this plot, or would even allow the abduction to occur.

"So this…Friend," Crys said with a sly smirk, "this wouldn't be the very same friend that allegedly hung himself last night, would it?"

Leona couldn't be sure, but she could have sworn that Dalejin just stomped in Crys' foot. "Dalejin did you-"

"Oh, no no no no no…" Dalejin gave a laugh the practically gave away his guilt. "That was a different guy, totally different, besides, it was clearly suicide. Just like the radio said it was," he said talking at a thousand miles a minute.

Crys held her stomach tightly in an attempt to stifle her laughter. She fell to her knees biting her lip hard trying not to laugh at Dalejin. She had to bite her lip hard enough to draw blood in order to get her giggles to stop. When she stood back up recomposed Dalejin shot her an evil look. In returned she squeaked afraid.

"Anyhow, I think we should begin out search at Gringotts," Dalejin said returning to his serious tone. Leona nodded at him. She couldn't think of a better place to start their search.

"…Wait, you're letting me come!" Leona said feeling quite valued all of a sudden. A huge smile spread across her face. Dalejin hardly ever let her come on trips and quests with him. For the most part he was afraid she'd get herself killed.

"Of course, why wouldn't I let you come? He's our son, I know you can handle yourself against a few goblins," he said in a light tone, and then looked at Leona who was still dressed in her evening gown; her hair was a tangled mess.

"However Cinderella, you can't go to the ball looking like that," he said sarcastically.

Leona affronted reached for her hair. She could feel that most of her hair had fallen out of place during the night. With out further explanation she ran to her room to change.

"So what am I going to do?" Crys asked Dalejin eyeing him suspiciously, wondering if she was going to like his response.

"I need you to stay here and guard the house incase Tristan makes it back of his own accord." Crys looked at him with pure outrage. She couldn't believe he'd even suggest that.

"There's no way in hell that I'd stay here any longer-" Crys started shouting pointing a finger at him before she was interrupted.

"There would be a credit card left," He said slowly trying to tempt her, "for all the food and pay-per view you could want."

Crys seemed momentarily soothed, but she knew that she could hold out for more. "eBay too?" Crys added crossing her arms in a 'take it or leave it' fashion,

Dalejin looked at her skeptically and questioned the wisdom in his next response. He knew al too well what kinds of bills she could incur from eBay. "I'll give you my personal pay-pal account," Dalejin said placing his left hand over his heart and bowed slightly.

Crys let out a happy shout and bounced up and down. She was pleased with the transaction she just made. She held out her hand to him. "We have a deal then!"

Dalejin gave her his hand and she clasped it firmly. "Best not to mention this to Leo, she'd kill us both," he said letting go of her hand.

"Of course, as the excellent friend that I am, I obviously agreed to watch the house vigilantly while she was out," she said mocking concern.

Dalejin nodded curtly at her, mesmerized by how deceitful she could be. It certainly explained why she was in Slytherin.

Moments later Leona returned to the group dress in clothing that one typically saw only in fantasy movies. She wore an old tan tunic that had once belonged to Dalejin. It bore the Hufflepuff crest of a badger. It was about to sizes too big so Leo tightened it around her with a belt. She wore dark green boots over her black pants. Over her shoulder she carried a knap sack given to her by an old friend who lived by the Boy Scout motto, of 'be prepared.' The sack had everything imaginable inside from food to medicine, to camping gear and even weapons. Clipped to her belt were two crescent blades that attached to her wrists in battle.

In short, Leona looked ready to fight a war on her own. She flipped her hair that was done in a braid, over her shoulder. Dalejin stared at her with his mouth to the floor. He would never admit it, but seeing her dressed like that was like a personal fantasy come alive. "You certainly look ready now," he whispered in appreciation looking her up and down several times.

Ordinarily Leona would have thanked him for his comment, but she had business to take care of.

"Let's go get our son."


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter 7:

Beautiful Stranger

Tristan slowly came to lying face down on a cold stone floor. His head was killing him; it felt like it had been hit with a brick. He reached a hand to rub the back of his head; nothing was bleeding so he took it for a god sign. It took him a long time for him to sit up, his entire body was sore. He looked down to appraise himself and discovered he was wearing very odd and colorful clothing. The sleeved and breeches were poofy, too poofy, as far as he was concerned. A large white ruffled collar was wrapped around his neck tightly. His first instinct was to rip it off, but it wouldn't budge,

Tristan inspected the room. It looked like a standard room you'd find in any castle. The walls and floor were made of stone. There was a small window that allowed in an abysmal amount of light. There was even an enormous amount of gold and jewelry that was piled in a mound in the corner of the room.

Whoever brought him here must be extremely rich, he concluded.

"Er, hello," came a small voice from behind him. Tristan was so entranced with the gold he didn't realize that there was another person in the room. He twisted his torso to face the voice.

He found himself face to face with a young girl. She had the most vividly yellow hair Tristan had ever seen. She carried with her a strong sense of joy. She exuded light, a light that could seemingly ward away any darkness it deemed fit. She looked to be about Tristan's age, yet she had a wisdom that surpassed his own.

As she smiled at him she pulled back her long blond hair to reveal a pair of long pointy ears.

"Hello," Tristan blushed mesmerized by her visage. "I'm Tristan," he finally said extending his hand towards the girl.

The girl took it, but didn't know what to do with the hand; it had been so long since she had talked to another human. "I'm Zelda," She giggled back; her sweet tone was the perfect vocalization of sunshine and flowers.

Tristan looked at her and blinked. "Zel-da?" He said slowly back wondering if possibly he misheard her. "Like the princess from the video game?" he said bewildered. He must be dreaming. It was bad enough she looked just like her, but she was called Zelda to boot.

"Video game?" She repeated back; her turn to be confused. It took a moment, but her brain caught up with her. "Oh yes, I remember, daddy wouldn't let me play those," she said with a sweet smile.

"Are you kidding me?!" Tristan said shocked, but waved his hand in dismissal. "So how old are you? How long have you been here?" Tristan asked in an attempt to figure out the universe he was stuck in at the moment.

"I am twelve years old," she started not making eye contact with him as if she had to think about it, "and I've been in here for about two years,"

"Where's here?" Tristan asked desperate to know.

"At Sir Ick's house, in Goblin City, I think," She said furrowing her brow hoping that she recalled it properly.

Tristan's eyes shot open, ithe goblins have a city all to their own!/i Tristan was amazed with this new development of a secret city. "Do you like it here?" He asked wanting to know how bad of a place this could be. The look she gave him in return didn't give him much hope.

She crossed her arms and drew her shoulders close to her neck. "I hate it here!" She muttered loudly wanting so badly to scream it from the top of her lungs, but was too afraid of the repercussions.

"So you've been stuck here for two years and you haven't managed to escape?" he asked her in a tone much like his fathers, calm and serious. She nodded at him in agreement.

"Sir Ick would kill me if I tried, just like the little girl who was here before me," she said sorrowfully. She dropped her arms and shoulders and folded her hands in her lap.

Tristan heard soft footprints come from the hallway. Instinctively he leaped from his sitting position and crossed in front of Zelda, aiming to protect her from whoever was passing. Zelda would have been grateful for his chivalry, but many months of training taught her to plaster herself against the wall when she heard that noise.

Zelda shook like an infant as she looked at Tristan who was giving her and equally puzzled look. Before he had time to ask her about it, the door made several loud clicking sounds, and it swung open slowly.

Standing in the door was an even fatter goblin than the one who unceremoniously abducted him from his house last night. He could only imagine that he was Sir Ick.

The stout goblin wasn't even looking at Tristan when he entered. He reached out a pointy finger towards Zelda, "Come Zelda, it's time for your therapy." He beckoned.

Zelda gave a scream and threw her shoe at him. It was intercepted halfway with an invisible force and sent right back at her. He shook his head at her and clapped his hands once. The action forced two silver bracelets on her wrists to snap together like hand cuffs. Like a magnet, the little girl was drawn to him.

Tristan could see that she was losing this battle with the goblin. He ran at the creature with full force. With his other hand, the goblin known as Ick stopped Tristan in his tracks. He enabled the large white collar around his neck to tighten even further, like a choke chain.

He fell to his knees instinctively trying to pry it off. He even tried screaming at it with frustration, but it only grew tighter. Remembering what was happening to Zelda he whipped his head up to look at her, but she was already gone. Seconds later the collar yielded of its own fruition, and left Tristan alone in the strange room.

Tristan stood up and walked to the corner of the room to inspect the mound of riches. He plunged his hand into it, hoping to find something he could use as a weapon.


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter 8:

Show Me the Way

Hand in hand, husband and wife made their way down Diagon Alley. The streets were quiet this morning. Shops were beginning to open up and the local children crowed around the latest broom being displayed in the shop.

To Leona, traveling invisibly under Dalejin's illusions made her feel uneasy. She knew no one could see her, but she just couldn't shake the feeling that they were all aware of her presence.

Dalejin looked at his wife and squeezed her hand empathetically. "Relax Leo, no one can see you," he cooed softly in her ear.

His voice gave Leo a small bit of confidence. If Helen had the face that launched a thousand ships, than Dalejin had the voice that kept them going.

It wasn't long before they came upon Gringotts. Its towering bronze doors stared down at them ominously. The building itself was several hundred years old. Its white stony appearance gleamed in the sunlight. It sparkled with pride at the knowledge of its invincibility.

Dalejin led Leo to the side of the towering edifice's doors. He knew it would arouse suspicion of the doors opened of their own accord. They had to wait for someone to enter first.

Leona looked at him and sighed. She knew what he was thinking. She just wasn't too fond of sitting around waiting for someone to open the doors for them.

Slowly the minutes ticked by. Wizards and witches unwittingly taunted the couple each time they passed by, heading to Knockturn Alley. There were even a few children that considered heading to the bank, but opted against it.

Suddenly and old witch turned the corner and began heading in the direction of the bank. Her tall pointed hat flopped against the wind as she hustled to the door. Leona's palms were sweating as she watched the tall old woman draw near. She looked at Dalejin to make sure he noticed her.

Dalejin did, of course and followed her with his eyes as she opened the door. Her arms were weak so she had a hard time opening it, Even so, she couldn't open the door very wide. It gave just enough room for Dalejin to attempt to pass through.

He wasted no time brushing past the woman. He nearly forgot Leona was holding onto him for dear life, and too petrified to think what should happen were he to let go.

Leona had to duck under the woman to keep from losing Dalejin's hand. He had eagerly cut in front of her, giving Leo just enough room to pass. It was a miracle Leona didn't knock the witch down.

Once inside, Leona yanked on Dalejin's hand and led him to the corner of the marbled room. "You trying to get me caught?" Leona hissed at him.

"I got us inside, didn't I?" He responded back to her but wasn't paying attention. He tightened his grip on Leona and led her down the marble floor of the bank.

There were at least three goblins at work already. They were waddling through the enormous building, shuffling money about, or taking deposits. Unfortunately for Dalejin, this all seemed like normal behavior, nothing suspicious. His eyes darted back and forth looking for some sort of sign, something out of the ordinary; something out of place.

Leona opted for a different mode of thinking. She had it set in her mind that they wouldn't find anything conclusively different around here. So she began to pay attention looking for doors, stairs, or elevators even.

In fact there was a newly installed elevator just ahead that led to the vaults. It was plausible to think that it could take them to a private floor, where potentially there son would be.

Dalejin shook his head at her; there was no way that he would stand around all day waiting for a goblin to use it, especially when he saw the archaic alternative. He pointed his hand to the left, showing Leo a stairwell that looked as if it had been there since the dawn of time.

The stairs went in only one direction, down. It looked as though it spiraled into infinity. Ordinarily, Leona would have been put off by such a stairwell, but this one was different. It was so brightly illuminated that any visible threats would be quickly detected. This was accomplished through the several torches that burned at a hotter blue flame in order to accommodate the goblins poor sense of sight.

The pair precariously made their way downward. Luckily for them their dissension was met without opposition. The lack thereof made the trip seem longer. The biggest complaint to be had was that the pathway was shrinking, forcing Leona to follow behind Dalejin

When the minor trek was finished they were greeted with a very tiny door. Above the door, inscribed in the wall, was some Goblik writing.

Dalejin dropped to his knees, and Leo fell down with him, her hand firmly fixed on his cloak. He opened the door and on the other side there was another passageway and more stairs. This time there was less lighting, and the ascending tunnel was seemed to have been carved from the earth.

Leona relied on her elbows to travel upward. The smell of the earth filled up her nostrils and invaded the senses. The gritty closeness made her feel like she could taste it.

Military crawling upwards took twice as long as the journey downward did. They reached another door that was as impossibly small as the first. Dalejin opened it after taking a deep breath. Fresh air and light poured into the tunnel causing the couple to ravenously climb out into the world. They didn't care if they were seen at this point, now that they were outside again.

There was something about this outside world, Dalejin noted as he dusted himself off. If his calculations were correct, he should have been in the middle of Knockturn Alley. This was decidedly not that street.

They were on top of a hill that over looked a miniature metropolis. The city from this distance looked like it belonged in a Dickens's novel. Its architecture seemed to be from the turn of the century.

Leona had to squint but she could see hundred of goblins walking through the streets of the city. Instantly they knew they were in the right place.

If that wasn't the tip off, then the sign right next to them that read: Goblin City, 1.5 Kilometers, certainly appeased their doubts.

Leona gave a grin.

"Huh, there's less shrubbery than I expected…"


	9. Chapter 9

Chapter Nine:

Be Our Guest

Night had fallen before Zelda returned her 'therapy.' Tristan spent the whole day standing at the door, waiting for the goblin to return. He shifted the bronze club that he held in his hand. Holding it for so long made his arm grow tired. He was going to make that goblin pay for how he treated him and Zelda. Tristan planned to escape, tonight.

Sir Ick was all too aware of Tristan's anger. He knew that they boy was up to something, and that we was the intended target. Sir Ick wasn't worried in the slightest. No human could stand up to the prowess of goblins.

Sir Ick looked down at the young girl that he was escorting back to her room. He considered her to be quite an ugly thing. With time and training she could grow to be such a lovely creature. If she would ever quit fighting with him, she may even begin to enjoy her stay in the mansion.

They rounded the corner and stood before the door of the child's room. Before opening it, Sir Ick looked at Zelda to make sure that she was still wearing the blindfold that prevented her from seeing how the goblin doors worked. If she discovered the secret the consequences would be disastrous.

He pressed his index finger on the door and after a few seconds his finger seemingly melted into the door. This allowed his finger to stroke downward, releasing all the catches and mechanisms required to unlock the door.

Tristan jumped into action as the door swung open; however, the goblin was much too fast for him.

In a flash not only had Sir Ick succeeded in returning Zelda to the room, but he also managed to once again enable the restrictive collar that sent Tristan to the ground gasping for air.

"You humans..." He lowly muttered at the children. iThey always made such a fuss. Why couldn't humans be a little more docile and accept their fate in the universe?/i

With out so much as a good night, the goblin left, leaving the children shaken and terrified.

Once Tristan recovered from the effects of the collar, he stood up and walked over to Zelda. She was sitting in the corner; her knees drawn to her chest. Her large ears were pulsing red, as if someone had tried boxing them.

"You ok?" he asked her putting a comforting hand on her shoulder.

Instinctively she pulled her shoulder back. Her usual cheerfulness was gone. Her blue eyes that had sparkled just earlier today were filled with bitter contempt. "Leave me alone!" She hissed, swatting his hand away.

Her slap stung Tristan a bit. He had only known her for an hour or so, but he knew that something was wrong with her. "What's wrong?"

"Nothing's wrong, just leaving me alone!" She shouted turning her back on him.

Tristan respectfully dropped the matter and attended to the new and sudden smell that filled the room. The aroma was tempting to the palate. It smelled of a feast in the making. Sure enough just across the room, there was such a feast.

"Hey, look! Food!" He shouted over at Zelda who wasn't listening. Tristan stared at the food ravenously. He hadn't eaten all day, and it looked so tempting. There was a roasted chicken, served along side with roasted red potatoes, green beans, some stuffing apples, and a few other questionable items.

Without the aide of a fork Tristan pulled off a leg from the chicken and took a huge bite, savoring the juices as they dripped from his mouth. He took another bite and another, and didn't stop until he ate a third of that chicken.

Tristan rolled over on his back once he had his fill. Considering the circumstances, he was momentarily content. He didn't even fight the urge to fall asleep on the stony floor.

He rolled his head to look at Zelda, an overwhelming sense of pity flooded over him. He felt so sad for her. She went through something awful, he knew it. Whatever this therapy was, it wasn't for her health.

"Good night Zelda," he said softly at the girl with her back turned at him.

"Good night Tristan," She said with an exhausted voice. She looked at the boy quickly and noticed that he was already asleep. "I wish I could sleep so easily," she murmured to herself. She once more fixed her gaze on the moonlight that attempted to shine in the room. She whispered a prayer to the moon and sat respectively in silence.

When she was finished Zelda crossed over to Tristan and the feast and took a bite from the remaining chicken. She wasn't that hungry so she decided to turn in for the night. From behind the piles of gold she produced two blankets and a couple pillows. Carefully Zelda draped a blanket over Tristan, and placed a pillow under his head.

She crossed over to her favorite corner and made a sleeping arrangement of her own. Her mind quickly scrolled through the days events as she began t fell the effects of slumber. Tomorrow was going to be a new day; and now that Tristan was her, she had hope.


	10. Chapter 10

Chapter Ten:

Don't Come Around Here No More

The day came and went, and Dalejin and Leona were no closer to finding their son than they were earlier. The goblin inhabitants either refused to help them, or had no idea what the couple was raving about.

Frustrated the pair took to roaming the streets in search of anything could be relevant to Tristan. This turned out to be a daunting task; the city was huge and labyrinthine. The streets had a tendency to turn on themselves. Getting lost was common place among visitors.

Dalejin just noticed that they had circled a certain bar three times already. "Damnit! This is leading nowhere," He shouted wishing that the goblins could be more helpful, or at least direct them to a map.

He sorely wanted to kill all the beasties and get it over with, but he couldn't. If word got out that a wizard ventured into their territory and slaughtered an inhabitant; a political crisis would ensue. Gringotts would close its doors; all the money in the wizarding world would be lost. Most importantly, they would never see their son alive again.

Dalejin looked over at Leona. She was hot and tired from walking all day but made no complaints. She was determined to keep going. He decided that it would be in both of their best interests to sit down for a moment to have a drink.

"Leona, come here," he said deviating from the streets into an alleyway. Leona followed him quickly hoping that he had found something.

"What did you find?" she breathed, kneeling down next to him.

"Nothing, I think now's a good time to take a break, don't you?" He asked taking Leona's bag. He opened the drawstring and reached in. He pulled out two water bottles; he took one for himself and tossed the other to Leona.

She caught it, but she couldn't help but stare at him with confused eyes. "I'm sorry; did you just say that you wanted to take a break?" She said in a higher voice than normal.

"Yes, Leona I did. We are both tired. This search is getting us nowhere, fast. We need to rest and to think up a more solid plan of action," he said taking a drink from his bottle.

Leo's eyes flamed. She couldn't bring herself to look at Dalejin for risk of further infuriation. She took her water bottle and splashed him with it. She stood up wanting to smack him. "Our son is missing, and you want to rest? How can you even live with yourself? This is all your fault!" Leona shoved her hands on her hips dangerously.

Dalejin shot up resisting the urge to backhand her as she had almost done. "Oh that's rich coming from the woman whom refused to let me teach my son how to defend himself. If anything; this is your fault, like it normally is,"

"Well maybe I didn't want my son getting killed once he got involved in the idiotic activities of his father!" Leona shouted back, pulling her wand out and pressed it into his sternum.

"At least my 'activities' yield results. At least my men respected me, which is more than I can say about the students you allegedly teach!" Dalejin hissed back.

Leona couldn't stand the sight of him anymore, this time she did slap him and hard. His head twisted to the side, and there was a large red mark where her hand had made contact. Dalejin made no attempt to retaliate physically. He lowered his eyes to her; in anger, and in shame.

"At least I don't kill people and lie about it," she said after the moment had passed. "At least when I go on a business trip I tell you that I am leaving and when I am coming back. I'm sick to death of you running away whenever it pleases you." Leona paused to stow her wand, to regain her composure and to cross her arms. "When I get back from finding Tristan, I want you and your belongings out of my house," she said in a nearly rational voice. "I never want to see you, again." Leona added, her voice quavered, threatening to cry.

Dalejin said nothing in his defense. He swiftly walked away. He pulled his hood up, not daring to make eye contact with her.

In a flash his world once again came crashing down on him. He didn't know how, but once again fate conspired against him. At least when his career as Serpent's Fire came to a halt he had Leona. Years later Tristan filled his thoughts as well. Over the course of the day he lost everything he held dear. His son didn't want him, his wife despised him.

i "I hate you! You're to worst father, EVER!"/i

Tears began to form in his eyes. Before the first one fell to the ground Dalejin apparated from sight.

Leona watched Dalejin leave. She held her stomach in sickness. "How can he not care?" She shouted in agony falling to her knees. How could Dalejin leave her so readily? Tristan was missing how could-

"-Oh come now, you know why!" Said a nasty voice in Leo's head, "you pushed him away. It wasn't that hard -you were holding him back. You did what any smart woman would have done ages ago," the voice snickered mischievously

"That's not true!" Leona shouted back; hastily grabbing her things and running blindly into the street. She was knocked to the ground when she accidentally ran into a strange looking man.

He was as large as a troll, with musculature reminiscent of professional wrestlers, yet his skull looked un-human. He smiled a toothy grin at Leona; she quickly jumped up and began to walk the other way, furiously wiping tears from her eyes.

From the other side of the street a goblin nodded at the giant beast, and he sped off towards Leona. Before she had time to react she was clubbed in the head by the monster, and fell limply to the ground. The beast laughed much like an ogre as he picked up his victim and tossed her over his shoulder. He nodded back to the goblin and headed away from the city.


	11. Chapter 11

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Mr. Ick Thworp sat down on a large plush chair across from his wife. They were in a very dark parlor. The entire room was dressed in rich tapestries created by other goblins. The room was decorated entirely with strong red hues. There was a roaring fire going in the hearth that was the sole source of light in the room.

Ick looked annoyed and tired. He was about to address his wife when she instinctively rose from her chair and walked over to him. She offered him a glass of tea, which he shook away. Hepressed his thumb and index finger on either side of the bridge of his nose.

Mrs. Thworp gulped nervously and went back to her chair. She picked up a book and began to read it. "How was Zelda's therapy today?" She said in a surprisingly soft tone for a goblin. She addressed him without removing her eyes from her book.

"She fought it, like she normally does." He said seemingly disinterest. He moved his hands from his face and placed them on the vast armrests of his chair. "I was surprised to find there was another boy in the room. Do you know how the pest managed to accomplish that?"

The wife placed the book gingerly on her lap. "I put him there," she said raising her nose to him; an insult among goblins if there ever was. Ick would have beaten her for that, if he didn't find it so becoming.

"Why? I told you that you couldn't have anymore pets!" He shouted at her.

"I know, but he looked so cute and pathetic, passed out in the corner of the cage in the pound. I couldn't say no," she cooed reflecting on her excursion.

"You went to that blasted pound again!"

The pound to which Sir Ick was referring to was a combination of an orphanage and an animal shelter. Human children were sent there whenever they were caught roaming the city. It was a secret institution known only by the most elite and powerful of the goblins. Human shelters were considered disgraceful just as prostitution was in most of the Unites States.

"Yes, just to visit of course, I had no intentions of adopting another human child, but this one was, you know-"

"-The boy hasn't even been here a day, and he's already tired to attack me! You know I don't like human children Bertha! I don't care if they can be reformed of not!" He seethed standing from his chair and knocked the book from her lap to assert his dominance. "It'll be your charge to make him more docile, or I'll have him put down! Dealing with one human girl is bad enough, do you understand?" Ick coal eyes pierced Bertha's hazel eyes.

"Of course my lord,"

Crys had been attacking eBay ever since Leona and Dalejin left the city over a day ago. Her purchases were as impressive as they were expensive. Dalejin had sorely underestimated her buying power and tenacity. Crys had to chuckle at the notion of tenacity. Betting persistence was easy when you had auto bidders, and because money was no object, she hadn't lost a single auction yet.

The doorbell rang and Crys ran over quickly; eager to find out which item had just arrived. She opened the door hastily and grabbed the small box from the owl. She tossed it a few Knuts and it flew off contently into the night sky.

Crys ravaged the box, loving the wizarding world's special shipping ability. The ministry, not being able to keep certain witches and wizards from using the popular online auction site, made a very special deal with the muggle corporation. In short, witches and wizards now had a very unique and secret section of eBay, which allowed them virtually instant shipping.

Crys reached down into the tiny box and pulled out an odd black robe and red wig. She hastily shoved the wig on her head and put on the black robe. Now dressed as Axel, a popular character from the Kingdom Hearts video game, she returned to her eBay station to check her current bids.

"Sweet! Hell's up grabs again!" She shouted. A greedy grin swept across her lips as she began to place her bid.

Leona's eyes slowly came in and out of focus. Kneeling above her was a rather attractive and tall man. He pressed a cold compress on her forehead, and placed another hand through her hair, trying to see if she was bleeding externally.

"Dalejin?" Leona croaked groggily. The more she looked at him, the more she realized it wasn't him. This man was different. He had soft blond hair, and dark blue eyes that women of all ages loved to gaze upon, trying to get lost in its wisdom.

"No," the man laughed with a melodic chuckle. "My name's Edward Bowen, but good guess," he said softly winking. "Looks like you got a pretty nasty bump on your head, but you will be alright," he said taking the rag and placing it back in the bucket of lukewarm water.

"Thank you Mr. Bowen," Leona said sitting up. She had a pounding headache and placed her hand over the back of her head.

"Please, friends call me Bowie," he smiled and reached into his tunic to produce some herbs that resembled bay leaves. "Here, put one of these on your tongue, it'll reduce the pain," he said handing it to her.

Leona grabbed it and placed it on her tongue as directed. It did indeed help. Feeling better, she looked around. She didn't recognize the place. They seemed to be on some dirt floor, under a large canvas tent of some kind. There were several other humans with them, and the occasional goblin.

"Mr- er Bowie, where are we?" She asked him nervously.

"In prison," he smiled to her. He stood up and extended and arm to her which Leona took. She looked around. Her fellow 'inmates' seemed decent enough; not at all what she expected from prisoners. "Don't worry about them," he added to her. "With the exception of the occasional goblin, we are all quite innocent."

Leona looked at him not convinced. "Andy Dufresne believed himself innocent as well," she laughed darkly.

Bowie raised an eyebrow at her, confused by her meaning. "Who's Andy?" He responded.

Leona gave a sympathetic look, forgetting that she tended to make obscure movie and literature references, which no one understood. "Sorry, inside joke," she said back to him, figuring it would absolve her of her madness.

"So if we are all innocent, why are we in prison" She asked Bowie. He gave it a moment to give it some thought.

"I suppose we are all here because; essentially, we bug goblins. We must have done something to upset them, but they won't reveal to us what we did that caused our incarceration." He said.

Leona looked at him and groaned. Of course she'd manage to get herself thrown in jail. With Dalejin gone, it was up to her to save Tristan, and now she was stuck in prison. "How many people have ever escaped?"

"No one's ever escaped from here and lived to tell about it," he said solemnly to the pink haired girl, wishing he could give her a better answer.

"So there's hope then..." heroine


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